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CPIHL spotlight: Three more title-game berths on the line in Wednesday's elimination-bracket finals

Cumberland Valley, Hempfield and Susquehanna Township have already punched their tickets to the CPIHL championship games on Saturday at Hersheypark Arena. Three more teams will be joining them when the elimination bracket finals are held Wednesday night. (Daniel Zampogna | dzampogna@pennlive.com)

Tier 2 features a 9 p.m. game between No. 1 seed Lampeter-Strasburg (18-2-0) and third-seeded Lower Dauphin (17-4-0) at Lancaster Ice Rink. The winner moves on to face second-seeded Hempfield (18-2-0) for the Viola Cup at 7 p.m. Saturday.

And in Tier 3, No. 2 Carlisle (17-4-0) tangles with third-seeded Penn Manor (16-5-0) at 7:30 p.m. at Twin Ponds West in Mechanicsburg. The winner advances to play top-seeded Susquehanna Township (18-2-0) in the Rothrock Cup final at 5 p.m. Saturday.

Here’s a closer look at each division’s match-up:

Tier 1: The Trojans have won back-to-back Bears Cups and 13 titles in the CPIHL’s first 19 seasons. If Hershey wants to keep its three-peat hopes alive, it must find a way to beat Cedar Crest for the fourth time this season and second time in a week.

The Trojans opened up the CPIHL playoffs with a 5-1 victory against the Falcons last Wednesday night as sophomore goalie Erich Valania stopped 24 of 25 shots, and senior forward Aaron Ellenberger scored a pair of goals.

Hershey won two of three regular-season meetings, including a 3-0 victory Dec. 20, featuring a 24-save shutout from Valania and two goals by Ellenberger.

Cedar Crest’s lone head-to-head win this season came Nov. 11, when sophomore forward Jake Horacek scored four goals and assisted on another in a 7-5 triumph. Sophomore forward Kyle Harris also had a five-point game with two goals and three assists.

Tier 2: The top-seeded Pioneers saw their 17-game winning streak halted with a 5-3 loss Monday night to No. 2 Hempfield. L-S would love nothing better than to get another crack at the Black Knights with a championship on the line. For that to happen, the Pioneers need to get past the Falcons.

Lampeter-Strasburg will once again lean on senior forward Dylan Garrett (69 points during the regular season), and senior goalie Ian Keene, who knows a 3.50 goals-against average and .844 save percentage in the playoffs just aren’t good enough to win.

Lower Dauphin stayed alive in the elimination bracket thanks to its 1-0 win vs. Warwick on Monday night behind junior goalie Michael Casamassa’s 19 saves and a second-period goal from senior forward Jason Shellenberger. In two regular-season meetings vs. L-S, the Falcons were blanked 3-0 (on Nov. 1) and 4-0 (on Dec. 6). The game will likely come down to netminding, and while Keene was fabulous during the regular season (17-0-1, 1.06 GAA, .916 SvP, eight shutouts), Casamassa is 3-0 in the playoffs with a microscopic 0.33 GAA and other-worldly .966 SvP.

Tier 3: Both the Thundering Herd and Comets have played three playoff games, winning twice and losing once. The two met head-to-head last Wednesday, with Penn Manor sophomore forward Lindy Vicari scoring four goals and setting up another in a 9-5 victory.

The Comets dropped a 4-3 decision to Susquehanna Township on Monday, but can earn a rematch in the title game by denying Carlisle again.

The Herd have already extended their season with a pair of elimination-bracket victories against West York on Friday (by a 5-2 score) and Monday vs. Susquehannock (6-2). Sophomore forward Charles Chili Ghiazza has been clutch with four goals and three assists in the last two Carlisle wins.

During the regular season, the Comets and Herd played three times. Penn Manor won a pair of wild games by 8-7 and 7-6 scores on Nov. 17 and Feb. 6, respectively. Carlisle’s head-to-head win came in 2-1 fashion on Jan. 12.